“Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.” -Psalm 102:18

 

There’s a great book by Andy Andrews called “The Butterfly Effect.” Essentially, it was taken from the 1963 study of Edward Lorenz that argued that butterfly could flap its wings and set air molecules in motion that could move other molecules which would move other molecules, and so on, until it influenced weather patterns on the other side of the planet. Andrews uses this theory to outline how one decision, made by one person, could set in motion a chain of events that would radically change the future. This Butterfly Effect may not be true, but I have witnessed the impact it has had on me.

In 1746, Hugh Blair had a vision for his descendants. His vision was to give his future generations an opportunity to worship freely in the New World. He and his family left everything and made the difficult seven-week voyage across the Atlantic. They faced numerous hardships, but it was worth it to provide a better life for his family. As they made it to Pennsylvania, he and his wife gave birth to John Blair in 1749 then would relocate to North Carolina.

John Blair would continue to live out the vision of his father Hugh, to provide a future for his children and grandchildren to grow up in a free world. To do this, he would fight against the British at King’s Mountain in 1780. For his efforts, he was granted land west of the Appalachian Mountains.

His son, James Blair, would continue the journey of his father in the 1800s by settling a track of land on the Tennessee River where he envisioned a town that could fulfill the dream set forth by his father and grandfather. Here, he and his wife would give birth to Wiley Blair.

Wiley Blair wanted to continue the generational vision by helping establish a Cumberland Presbyterian Church in this town, which eventually would become known as Loudon. Building the church would begin to fulfill the generational promise of passing down the Word of God to the future. He was credited as being a large contributor to the building of the church, but unfortunately would pass before the completion.

Wiley Blair’s son, William Wiley Blair, would pick up the mantle and serve as an elder in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church where he would worship in a new building erected by the congregation on College Street, the same location as the church today. William Wiley Blair used the church to raise and train his son Sam Wiley Blair in the 1880s. The church would provide him with a strong foundation of Biblical faith that would guide him throughout his life.

Sam Wiley Blair was a faithful member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and would ensure his family would continue the generational worship began by his forefathers. He would bring his daughter Rachel Blair Weaver with him to be brought up in the church in the 1920s. Rachel Weaver would continue to do the same by raising her daughters Martha Malloy in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in the 1940s so that they could learn sound doctrine to continue to pass down through the next generation.

Martha Malloy would develop a Biblical worldview from the Cumberland Presbyterian Church where she could keep the family faith growing by bringing her daughter, Beth Malloy Brakebill, with her to worship in the 1960s. Learning the faith of her forefathers, she would eventually raise her children Sara and Wiley Brakebill in the same church as her parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents.

I have truly seen the faith of my fathers played out throughout the generations. My forefathers would face numerous trials and tribulations so that I could have the opportunity to learn God’s Word and grow up in His sound doctrine. They knew the difficulties that lay ahead, so they helped establish a church that could assist their future generations in becoming disciples of Christ. I am a beneficiary of such devotion.

However, the generational faith does not stop with me. I am a caretaker for this generation, and it is my responsibility to ensure that the faith of my father’s continues to the next generation. It has been an honor and a joy to watch the ninth generation grow in their faith at the Loudon Cumberland Presbyterian Church and I pray that our church will continue to lead my children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren to the cross of Jesus Christ.